A sewer replacement is the reason for the closed-off streets in the area of Platte Avenue and Chestnut and Walnut streets.
Steve Berry of Colorado Springs Utilities said the work, which started two weeks ago, should be finished within about a week.
The project started as a routine cleaning project - no digging required -on the Near Westside, but when a weak, undersized section was found along Platte, Utilities
decided to replace 1,200 feet of pipe between Chestnut and Walnut, plus a segment west of Chestnut.
In its place will be an 8-inch line instead of the old 6-inch. Parts of the old stuff were clay, meaning it must have been installed 50 to 80 years ago, Berry said.
The work was part of Utilities' Local Collectors Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program, a city-wide effort that addresses pipes less than 8 inches in diameter. The
program, started in 2004, is budgeted for $20 million this year, Berry said.
It is similar to the Sanitary Sewer Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program (SSERP), which cleans or replaces larger lines.